Dedicated to Duranee, who bought this at auction. Much thanks to Rusty and Righ for their betas. Formerly published in Come to Your Senses #16.
The sun was setting over the Colorado mountains. James Ellison was entranced. Between his enhanced vision and the clarity of the air around him, it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. His partner, Blair Sandburg, sighed beside him. Jim turned to look.
Blair's eyes were wide with wonder as he stared at the mountains. His hair had gotten loose from its tie and was blowing around his face, hiding and revealing a gentle half-smile. He was so beautiful even the sunset could only enhance, not compete. Jim silently thanked whoever was responsible for them being here this day.
*************************
"Chief, want to go to a wedding?" Jim paused in sorting through his mail to look at a simple card.
"Depends. Who's getting married?" Blair limped to the table carrying a plate with a sandwich. It had only been a short time since he'd been shot in the leg by an escaped felon, but he was healing and regaining strength in it rapidly.
"Old buddy of mine. He has this ranch in Colorado, and he's having the wedding there. Note with the invitation says that he'll even put us up."
"'Us,' Jim?" Blair grinned around his food.
"Well, it's addressed to James Ellison and Friend. I think that means you."
"I think he expects you to bring a girlfriend, not your roommate. Surely there is someone you're willing to spend a couple of days with in Colorado."
"Yeah. You."
"Oh, man. I mean some woman. Someone you can share the romance of...of the horses with. Someone who can maybe *ride*."
Jim closed his eyes briefly. *You're the only one I want to do that with, Chief.* "It's a few weeks away. Your leg'll be better by then."
"Oh, man. You're not getting this at all. I *don't* ride. I never learned."
Jim smiled. "Then I'll teach you. You'll love it, Sandburg. I promise. Look, I'll call Scotty right now and ask him if it's okay if I bring you instead of a date. Okay?"
Blair shrugged. "Fine by me. Going to a real ranch should be fun no matter what. At least it's a chance to get out of Cascade."
Jim nodded as he walked to the phone and dialed the number on the invitation. "Hey, Scotty! Just got the invite. Congratulations!"
"Ellison! How you doing? Thanks...I got me the prettiest lady ever. You coming? You want, you can come up a week early. I got plenty of room at the ranch."
"Depends. Is it okay if I bring my friend Blair Sandburg with me?"
"Sure thing. Can your friend ride?"
"Rank beginner, but a fast learner. Speaking of...you got any *real* saddles up there or should I bring my own?"
"You still using those sissy English sidesaddles? You won't find them on my ranch."
"I'll dig one up. Looking forward to seeing you. And congratulations again."
"You, too, Jim. And thanks!"
Jim put down the phone with a grin. "He invited us up for the week. I'll have you riding broncos by then."
"Not on your life, Jim. I'm *not* getting on any horse." But Blair was smiling as he said that, so Jim relaxed. He wanted to see Blair riding with the wind, even a gentle wind.
**************
"So, where's that friend of yours, Jim?" To Jim's amusement, Blair tried to peer over the heads of the crowd, looking for a guy he'd never met.
"Chief, he's right over there. I'll take you there." Shouldering his luggage, Jim clapped a Stetson on his head and led him to where Scotty was standing, waving his hand frantically. He heard Blair sigh as he followed.
"Ellison! There you are! Get over here." Scotty stopped waving. He grinned, his green eyes sparkling in his tanned face beneath his cowboy hat. Jim stuck his hand out, but Scotty would have none of that. He pulled Jim into a hug, not noticing how Jim stiffened in his arms as the wave of aftershave, grass and horse came over him. "I thought you said you were bringing someone named Blair with you."
Jim freed himself. "He's right here." Jim pointed to his partner.
Blair waved. "Hi. Blair Sandburg."
Scotty blinked a couple of times. "I thought...Jimmy, you sure have changed since I last saw you." He grinned. "Welcome to Colorado, Blair. Any friend of Jimmy's a...well, welcome." He stuck out his hand. "What? No hug?" Blair took it after tossing Jim a look. "Congratulations, man."
"Thanks, Sandburg. Glad to have you. My truck's waiting outside. Let me take some of those bags, guys."
"Why don't you take this one, Howard?" Jim handed him a very large and heavy bag. "Picked this one up just for this trip."
Scott looked into the bag. "You did bring one of those sis...English saddles. And I thought I was going to make a m...a cowboy out of you." He gave both of them funny looks, then smiled again.
"Come along, boys. I have a real ranch supper planned for you two. Here's the truck."
Jim stood still while Blair burst out laughing. "Now I *know* you two have been friends a long time." He looked at the blue and white pickup and laughed again. "Don't tell me. It's a '69, too."
"It's a good year for trucks, Chief." Jim fought to hide his own smile.
"Actually, it's a '71, but I wouldn't drive anything else." Scott unlocked the doors and tossed their baggage in the back, taking special care for the saddle.
"You drive a '69, Jimmy? I kind of figured you for a sports car."
Jim shrugged. "I'm not the man I used to be."
"I can *see* that. Why don't you boys climb in."
They settled themselves in the front seat, with Jim in the middle. "Just how far is this ranch of yours, Scotty? This airport is pretty far off the beaten track as it is."
They'd ended up taking a tiny commuter plane from Denver on their final leg. Blair had spent the trip holding on to his seat with both hands, clearly willing the plane to stay aloft.
"Couple of hours. Why don't you boys just take a nap? I'll get us there in no time."
"Great idea, man. But won't we miss the scenery?"
"Plenty of scenery where we're going, and it looks much better on horseback."
Blair shrugged. "I'll take your word for it."
"Good man." Scotty started the truck and took her onto the highway. Blair scrunched himself up by the window and promptly fell asleep. Jim looked at him with a mixture of envy and carefully hidden delight. Blair could have no idea how he looked when he was asleep, but Jim enjoyed every chance he had to watch him.
Despite Scotty's words, the scenery they sped through was spectacular. Jim was tempted to wake Blair so he could see it all through his eyes as well, but he'd had a rough flight. The mountains were beautiful, though. Almost hypnotic...
"Okay, you two, Rise and shine! We're here."
uh-oh
Scott's voice sounded very far away. He liked where he was. He wanted to stay.
"Jim...Jim...listen to my voice." *That* voice was clearer. And there was something warm on his shoulder. "Come back, Jim." He had to listen. It was Blair. He blinked his eyes, which suddenly hurt.
"What's wrong with him, Sandburg?"
"Guess he got hypnotized by the highway. You know how intense he can get."
"Yeah. Does this happen a lot?"
"No. And not if he's driving or something, but..."
"Keep this up, Chief, and Scotty here will never let me on a horse. Must have fallen asleep." Once again, he thanked fate for his partner's ability to think on his feet.
"Let's get you two settled, okay?" He whistled, and two large men in jeans, boots and plaid shirts sauntered up. "Josh, Mike, help my guest here with their bags, please. I've put them in the corner guest room. I guess you two won't mind sharing?" Scotty grinned.
Jim took a look around the spread as he left the truck. There was a good sized house next to a large garage, and he could see stables and barns not too far away. He could smell them, too - a clean, rich smell of well-kept horses, fresh hay and leather. It brought back some of the happiest days of his childhood.
He, his father and Stephen would spend hours training and riding when he was a kid. He didn't know what he liked more - the cross-country riding and racing or the dressage training with a horse so intelligent and responsive it took almost no pressure to make her flow though the corners.
"Beautiful place, Scotty. A man could be really happy here."
"I am. Can't think of a better place to raise a family. Marian and I both agree on that one."
"Are we going to meet the bride-to-be, Scott?" Blair shaded his eyes as he took in the scenery. "Man, those mountains are fantastic. I could look at them forever, become one with them."
"You'll meet her tonight. She's in town now with her mom, getting groceries."
Blair nodded. "It is *so* cool here."
"Why don't you boys get to your room? Dinner'll be in about an hour. Hope you like steaks."
"Think you can handle some red meat, Chief?" Jim slapped Blair on the shoulder.
Blair rolled his eyes. "No problem, Jim."
They followed the ranchhands to the west corner room. The afternoon sun made the room bright and cheerful as it flowed through the large windows. The furnishings were spare and elegant, all in natural oak. There was a couple of chairs near a table under a window, a nice sized dresser, two nighttables and a carved and polished headboard. Jim and Blair looked at each other. There was only one headboard because there was only one bed - a queen sized bed covered in bleached linens.
While they stood in shock, the ranchhands dropped their luggage and left them alone. Then Blair blinked and started to laugh. As Jim stared at him, the laughter continued until finally his partner was gasping for breath.
"What's so funny, Sandburg?"
"Ji...im...d..don't you...you see it? Oh, man!" And he was off again. Every time he tried to explain, he just started laughing harder. Finally, Jim could not stand it and grabbed his shoulders.
"Chief, what is so damn funny about this?"
Blair took a couple of deep breaths. "Wh..en Scotty picked us up, he was looking for someone *else* to be with you. Someone named Blair."
"Last I looked, that was *your* name."
"Yeah, but most people named Blair don't look like me."
"What do most Blairs look like?"
"Girls. Women. *Female*. He was *expecting* you to bring a *girlfriend*."
Blair collapsed again. Jim's eyes widened. "That...oh, God... but why...oh, no...and..." He began to laugh himself. "Oh, no..he thinks...he thinks..."
Blair could only nod vigorously while looking at the bed. "He...thinks...you...you and...me...are..."
"And...that's...that's why he...didn't change the room. He thinks...you're my boyfriend!"
Blair nodded again. "As if...as if...oh, God. Jim, he really thinks you'd...with *me*?"
Jim suddenly sobered. "Why not? You're pretty cute."
Jim grinned to himself as Blair stumbled against the luggage in shock.
"Uh...Jim, please don't joke about things like that."
Jim reached out a hand to pick him up. "I'm not joking."
Blair took it and hauled himself upright, but when he moved to take it back, Jim held on tightly. "Jim? I'm sorry, this does not make any sense." Jim let go, reluctantly. Blair's hand had fit so right in his.
Blair walked to the chairs under the window and sat down. He was backlit by the setting sun so Jim couldn't see his face well, while the tendrils of hair that had escaped his ponytail glowed red, framing him in fire.
"I'm sorry, Chief. I'm a coward. I should have told you years ago, but I was afraid of your reaction."
"Reaction?"
"Yeah."
"Did you think I'd go into some...panic or something? Oh, man."
"No, no, Chief. I know that if you had a gay roommate or whatever, you wouldn't care. Hell, you'd fix him up, right?"
"Depends. If he were good-looking enough..." Even though Jim couldn't see his eyes, he *knew* Blair was looking right at him. "Jim...man, have *we* been crossing signals. We're as bad as your friend Scott." He started to laugh again.
"Sandburg, this is not funny." Except that Blair's laughter was contagious and it all of a sudden *was.*
Finally, weak from laughter, Jim fell to the bed.
Blair struggled for breath. "Man, we have *got* to have a *long* talk."
"For once, I agree with you." He patted the bed next to him. "But I want to see that face of yours while we do."
As Blair struggled to his feet, there was a knock on the door. "You boys decent?"
"It's open, Scotty!"
Scott walked in with a pretty woman about his own age. "I thought you two would like to meet my lady. Marian Andrews, this is my old buddy, Jim Ellison, and his...partner, Blair Sandburg."
She held out her hand. "I'm happy to meet you both. Welcome."
Jim, who had rapidly scrambled to his feet, bent over her hand. "You have my best wishes, Marian. He's a good guy."
Blair stood up and waved. "Nice to meet you, Marian. Congratulations."
"Thank you. I hope you like the room - I think it has one of the best views in the whole house."
She smiled at both of them as she indicated the windows, now glowing dull red in the sunset. "I just wanted to meet the two of you before dinner. We'll let the two of you get ready...say about fifteen minutes or so?"
Jim nodded. "We'll be there on time. Casual dress?"
"Jimmy, I have never dressed for dinner, and I'm not about to start now." Scott grinned and waved as he and his lady left the room.
"I guess we'll have to postpone that talk until later, Chief. We have just enough time to get ourselves unpacked and make ourselves presentable." Blair nodded. He was already filling a drawer with the contents of his suitcase. He pulled his shaving kit out and headed for a door that was either a closet or a bathroom. When he disappeared inside, Jim figured he'd found the right one. He put his own things away in another drawer, and hung his shirts up in what had to be the closet since there was no other choice. He left one light plaid number out and changed into it.
Blair emerged from the bathroom freshly shaved, with his hair combed. He took a look at Jim. "You think I should change my shirt, too?"
"Might not be a bad idea, Chief. You're looking a little rumpled."
"All of my shirts look rumpled. But I'll see what I have." He rummaged through his drawer and took out a sweater. "How's this?"
"That's the one I gave you for your birthday, right?" Jim smiled at him.
"Hmm." Blair took another look at it and put it away, taking out a different one. When he took off his top shirt and slipped the sweater over his head. It didn't fit as well as the first, but the blue did set off his eyes.
"Better?"
Jim nodded. "We'd better get down. I have a feeling if we show up late, we'll find the dogs eating our food."
Blair grinned, but something looked strained. "I hope we can just *find* the...the dining room or mess hall or chuck wagon or *whatever* it's called."
"Well, I guess we can just follow our noses."
"We can follow *your* nose."
Blair grinned at Jim.
"That would get me the kitchen. Not a bad idea."
However, when they opened the door to their room, they found a tall, skinny man with a weather-beaten face waiting for them. He stuck out a hand. "Hey. My name's Bob, and I'm the ranch foreman. Scott figured you'd get lost in this maze. You're Mr. Ellison and, er, *Mr.* Sandburg, right?"
"Jim and Blair, Bob. Pleased...and somewhat relieved to meet you." Both men shook.
"Yeah, man. Now, which way's the food?"
"Just follow me, fellows."